361.1121 Hrinkevich, Frank/3: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Davies)
167. Your 274, October 21, 2 p.m. The Department desires that you address to Mr. Litvinov at the earliest possible moment a note stating that you are instructed by your Government to request that permission be granted for a representative of this Government to interview Hrinkevich and asking for an early reply.
It would be preferable to postpone discussion of this request until a written reply has been received from the Foreign Office. Should you find it necessary, however, to discuss this matter in the meantime with [Page 494] Soviet officials, you may call their attention to the provisions of Article 11 and the Protocol to Article 11 of the German-Soviet agreement of October 12, 192554 and to the statement made in Litvinov’s letter of November 16, 1933, to the President to the effect that most-favored-nation rights with respect to legal protection “will be granted to American nationals immediately upon the establishment of relations between our two countries”. You should not, however, say anything that would imply that this letter is the only basis for this Government’s request and you should make it plain, if necessary, that this Government would expect the granting of such permission even in the absence of all written guaranties.